3 Defendants Say They Are Not Liable For Boy`s Bike Death

March 18, 1988|By JAMES H. TOLPIN, Staff Writer

Jurors are expected to return a verdict today in Palm Beach County Circuit Court after spending the night thinking about who should be blamed for the bicycle-accident death of 13-year-old Marcus Lee in 1984.

Lee was killed when the bicycle that he and his 11-year-old sister were riding on a sidewalk along Blue Heron Boulevard in Riviera Beach went out of control, and he fell into the side of a passing car.

The children were riding double and the bicycle had no brakes.

Attorneys for Lee`s mother, Gladys Lee of Riviera Beach, told jurors on Thursday that responsibility lies with the three defendants and, to a lesser extent, Lee.

As told by Gladys Lee`s attorneys, Willie Gary and Robert Parenti, Riviera Beach was negligent because the boy lost control on a sidewalk in the 1200 block of Blue Heron Boulevard that had been cracked by Riviera Beach garbage collectors and had not been repaired.

Florida Power & Light Co. also was negligent because Lee had to swerve to avoid an FPL street light pole negligently placed at the rear of the sidewalk, Parenti said.

The driver of the car, Gary Moorehouse, was negligent too, Gary said. By law, as a driver, he owed a duty to guard against the unpredictable behavior of children near the street.

``I saw them ahead of me,`` Gary said Moorehouse testified about the children, ``but I didn`t pay any attention to them.``

Gary and Parenti asked jurors to award Gladys Lee $1.5 million to compensate her for the loss of her son.

Each defendant had an attorney, but FPL`s attorney George Supran struck points for all defendants. He called the accident tragic, but said it was bound to happen because Lee was negligent.

The children were riding double on a bicycle built for one. The bicycle had no brakes. They were riding on the sidewalk. All of that is against the law, he said.

Lee`s sister, Gayle, told her mother right after the accident that she had been riding on the handle bars. She changed her story in court because she was scared, Supran said.

The pole was properly placed, he said, and the accident would have happened whether the pole was there or not.

Moorehouse`s attorney, Dewey Varner, said Moorehouse should not be held responsible because he did not hit the boy, but rather the boy fell into the side of his car, which was traveling within the speed limit of 35 mph.